1991 Nations Cup - Baby Butyrskaya, Baby Navka and Nancy Kerrigan!!

[floskate]

I came across an old VHS the other night and, having never watched it, decided to see what kind of quality it was and who was on it. I was shocked to find some really rare footage of this event with a very young Maria Butyrskaya and Tatiana Navka plus some 90's classics in Nancy Kerigan and Mark Mitchell. I've uploaded the vids for people to reminisce with if you like your skating 90's style. Here is all I have:

Maria Butyrskaya SP

Maria Butyrskaya LP - unfortunately this seems to have been blocked in some countries

Nancy Kerrigan SP

Nancy Kerrigan LP

Mark Mitchell SP

Mark Mitchell LP

Evgenia Shishkova & Vadim Naumov SP

Evgenia Shishkova & Vadim Naumov LP

Isabelle Brasseur & Llloyd Eisler SP

Isabelle Brasseur & Lloyd Eisler LP

Tatiana Navka & Samvel Gezalian OD

Tatiana Navka & Samvel Gezalian FD

I haven't watched much skating from these particular years in a long time, and while I wasn't a huge fan of some of the up tempo choreo, I really was impressed by Nancy Kerrigans posture, line, spring - beautiful skating knees - and when they worked, beautiful jumps. Back in 1991 triple lutzes were still not exactly commonplace and she jumps them very well here. And this was over a QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO!!!! How???? I feel old!

Enjoy

 

[gk_891]

This is quite the find. Thanks for posting these.

Is it my imagination or is Navka's OD dress the same that Grishuk wore earlier that year the 1991 Europeans?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAWT_TT90Vw

 

[tony]

This is fantastic. I got the Youtube notification that videos from this event were being uploaded and I remembered instantly that Butyrskaya competed here but there was never any video prior to her 1992 Skate Canada surprise win.

I see she had that Moliendo Cafe program for two seasons, and then the exact same choreography was passed on to Julia Lautowa 5 years later. She really flew into the Salchow (with steps) in her early days and she oddly couldn't do one in isolation to save her life in her late career. And on the opposite spectrum, she got the loop all wrong here and it would turn into her best and most reliable jump.

The short program for her is a new find though! That back spiral/change edge/2A was something she put in several of her short programs (definitely in the Phantom of the Opera '94 short).

 

[floskate]

I just don't remember that double axel set up but, back in the day the BBC never showed short programs anyway so these are great to finally find and share

 

[skatesindreams]

I really was impressed by Nancy Kerrigans posture, line, spring - beautiful skating knees - and when they worked, beautiful jumps. Back in 1991 triple lutzes were still not exactly commonplace and she jumps them very well here.

Noting, with pleasure, the quirk rotation of her jumps.

 

[alchemy void]

Omfg Butyrskaya 91 Nations Cup has been a holy grail of mine for years. I never thought we’d ever see it!

Can’t wait to watch tonight.

Thanks so much @floskate!

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Even though she made one or two errors in her long program, I don't think I have ever seen Kerrigan look so relaxed and free.

Thank you so much!

 

[berthesghost]

So far I’ve only had time to watch Nancy’s SP and I know people snark on “Muzak” and “jazzercise choreo” but this actually was everything a SP was supposed to be... a showcase of the athlete’s technical skills packaged in a cohesive program. Will I listen to it on my iPod or in the car? No. Did it usually beat other SPs with better music and more musical choreo? Yes. She was branded a “SP skater” and her SPs really did all they had to do: set her up for the final warm up group and get her in the mix for a possible medal.

 

[Seerek]

The Butyrskaya videos do bring up speculation as to how the rest of her career might have panned out (longevity, medals) had she achieved earlier success as a teen and qualified for the 1992 Olympic Team (she was the alternate, IIRC).

 

[Clay]

Great to see some rare finds missing from youtube, including another Kerrigan performance in the lead up to 1992 Olympics. Yes, she had great knees and spring.Thanks

 

[briancoogaert]

Oh thank you so much ! First time I watch that competition !

Nancy's Lutz has always been a treasure, so is her 2Axel, and she landed them beautifully here
Maria Butyrskaya seems less stiff than she was after !

 

[Twilight1]

On the bus on my way to work...can't wait to watch these on my lunch break.

I always loved Navka & Gezalian. Their Strictly Ballroom FD was one of my faves in 1994.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Maria's skating was totally different back then. Her jumping got so much more stiff as she gained competitive recognition.

 

[berthesghost]

As awkward as Maria's stiffness was in later years I still find it preferable to those awful splats. Kerrigan's LP had a a two foot, a double and a pop. Maria's had some jumps that were all messed-up right from the take-off, and then messy and disruptive falls. It's a shame she never was able to conquer her nerves.

I loved S&N's take5 SP. they were always underrated IMHO and I'm still "wuz robbed" for them for bronze in Lillehammer. Someone mentioned in another thread "who doesn't love B&E?" But I couldn't find a raising hand emoji to respond

I was a little taken aback by MM's programs which I hadn't seen in years. They seemed dated. And the costumes were awful. It's surprising what doesn't date well and what does. All the vids were from 91 but his were the only ones I was like "oh god, what does he have on?!" And he looked almost like a Wylie clone here, which is not at all how I remember him.